Halter-fastener



No. 6|9,629. Patented Feb. l4, I899. B. SMITH.

HALTER FASTENEB.

(Application filed Nov. 2a, 1898.

(N0 Mndel.)

E I I a I 1 l A .1

fiyszs A INITED STATES GEORGE SMITH, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HALTER-FASTEN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 619,629, dated February 14, 1899.

Application filed November 23, 1898 Serial No. 69%243- (NO model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it knownthat I, GEORGE SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residin g at Chicago,in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Halter-Fastener, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in halter-fasteners.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of devices for securin g animals in stalls and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one adapted to enable a halter to be readily attached to it and capable of being readily released to disengage a halter whether the same is under tension or not, thereby obviating the necessity of cutting a halter strap or rope should an animal become entangled in the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device adapted to be readily arranged in a series, so that one or more animals may be simultaneously released.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed outin the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a halter-fastener constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of the weighted hook. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a portion of the operating-bar.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

1 designates a casing consisting of a front plate 2 and a back plate 3, provided at opposite sides with spacing-lugs 5, arranged on its inner face and interposed between it and the front face to provide an intervening space for the reception of a weighted lever 4, and the said lugs 5 are perforated for the reception of bolts 6, which pass through registering perforations of the front and back plates and which are adapted to secure the device to a suitable support at the head of a stall. The back plate, which is about half the size of the front plate, is disposed opposite the upper portion of the same, and the lower portion 7 of the front plate is deflected outward, as shown, the plate 2 being provided near its center with a horizontal bend.

. The weighted hook, which is mounted on a pivot 8, has its engaging portion 9 at the top of the shank, and the lower end of the latter is enlarged to form a weight 10, which projects forward from the plane of the shank and swings in the space provided by deflecting the lower portion of the front plate. The weight is recessed at its upper portion at 11 to clear the bend 12 of the plate 2 for enabling the engagingportion of the hook to swing sufficiently beyond a vertical slot or recess 12 to release the ring 13.

The upper portion of the front plate is provided with the slot or recess 12, which is fiared at the top, and the back plate is provided with a vertical groove 14, which re= ceives the inner portion of the link and permits the same to extend beyond the inter vening space between the front and back plates, so that the hook can engage the link.

The swinging hook is operated by means of a bar 15, mounted in suitable guides and provided with a stud 16, arranged to engage the weighted end of the hook, whereby when the bar is reciprocated the engaging end of the hook will be swung backward. The reciprocating bar is designed to be employed when the fastening devices are arranged in a series, and it will permit a number of animals to be simultaneously released without necessitating the operator going into each of the stalls.

The invention has the following advantages: The halter-fastener, which is exceedingly simple and inexpensive in construction, possesses great strength and'durability, and while it is adapted to save much time in releasing animals it is also capable of enabling a halter strap or rope to be readily unfastened, even although the same should be under tension by reason of an animal pulling backward or becoming entangled in it. When the devices are arranged in aseries, they may also be operated independently of one another, so that any one of the animals may be released by simply swinging the hook backward without freeing the other animals. Also there is no danger of an animal cutting or otherwise inj nring or annoying itself with the device;

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is- 1. A device of the class described comprising a casing provided at its front with a slot or opening and having a groove at its back arranged opposite the slot or opening, and a swinging hook mounted within the casing, provided with a weight and having its engaging portion arranged to swing across the slot or opening, substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described comprising a casing composed of a front plate having a slot or opening at its upperportion and provided with an outwardly bent ordeflected lower portion, a back plate spaced from the front plate, a swinging hook mounted between the plates and provided with an upper engaging portion arranged to extend across the slot or opening, and a weight arranged at the lower end of the hook and operating in the space formed by the deflected lower portion, substantially as described.

3. A device of the class described comprising a casing composed of a front plate having a deflected lower portion, and aback plate mounted opposite the upper portion of the front plate and terminating short of the lower portion,.a swinging hook mounted between the plates and provided with a weight operating in the space formed by the deflected bottom portion of the front plate, and an op erating bar located beneath the back plate and provided with a lug adapted to engage the weight of the hook, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto afiixed my signaturein the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE SMITH.

lVitnesses:

L. J. BROWN, W. D. THOMAS. 

